GARETH SOUTHGATE will consider his position as Middlesbrough manager in the summer – but insists he is more certain than ever that he is up to the job.

And while the Boro boss has admitted for the first time that contingency plans for the possibility of relegation HAVE been made, the club have been linked with a move for Watford striker Tamas Priskin.

The Teessiders remain in the drop zone after a run of one win in 19 Premier League games (before yesterday) and while Southgate retains hope for survival, it would be remiss of the club were they NOT to have made preparations for life outside the top flight.

And while he expressed self-doubt about his suitability for management early in his tenure, Southgate now believes he is a better boss for his experiences in the dugout.

Asked if, come what may, he would review his situation at the end of the season, he said: “Yes you’d always review everything.

“Wherever we finish in the league we always sit down at the end of the season and work out what’s gone right, what’s gone wrong and the reasons for it. Then we’ll make decisions on the back of that.

“I know in terms of working on a day-to-day basis, preparing a team and doing the right things on the training field, that I’m a far better manager than I was three years ago. I wasn’t sure when I first got the job whether it was what I wanted to do long-term. I know it is now, and ironically through the adversity of it, and through the setbacks, I’m more determined to prove myself and to make a real go of it.

“I’ve proved myself for two-and-a-half years to have been able to manage at this level. We’ve had a bad half-a-season. At this moment in time that’s proving to be costly but there are many reasons for that. There’s a lot of circumstances around the position that we’re in but I’m very confident in my ability to be successful.”

Asked if plans had been discussed for life in either the Premier League OR the Championship, he added: “Business-wise you have to, you have to be prepared always in business for every eventuality.

“But it doesn’t actually affect too much the decisions that you have to make.

“There’ll be positions that whatever happens to us, that we want to strengthen. There’ll be certain players that probably wouldn’t be here next year and there’ll be certain ones that we want to move on whichever division we’re in. It doesn’t alter as much of your thinking as people might imagine. The same goes for players coming in.

“You’ll be able to attract a different type of player depending on what division you’re in. If we stay up the fees will be higher! We have to be prepared in that sense for everything. That’s common sense because you’ve got to have business plans in place.

“We can’t be certain what division we’re going to be in. Our focus and aim is to stay in this one but as a business and in terms of scouting you have to prepare for both, otherwise you could suffer a disappointment and not be prepared for what’s coming. You’ve got to have that covered.”

Meanwhile, Hornets striker Priskin’s agent Jozsef Vorosbaranyi said: “It is very likely that he will leave Watford this summer. He is still young and we want to find a team for him that offers a step forward and where he can play regular football.

“That would be the case at Middlesbrough, as they may be in the Championship next season with Watford, but they have a good chance of going back up to the Premier League at the first attempt.”